Behind the wheel of the Honda FCX hydrogen-powered car is both monumental and a non-event
2008 HONDA FCX
MOTOR: Type—AC synchronous motor with 95 kW max output; 256Nm max torque
FUEL CELL STACK: Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEFC). Output: 100 kW
FUEL: Compressed hydrogen stored in high-pressure tanks; capacity 45 gallons
ENERGY STORAGE:Lithium ion batteries
MAX SPEED: 100 mph
MAX RANGE: 270 miles
Get in Honda’s FCX sedan, go for a ride and as you would expect from any Honda product, there is little drama: Put your foot to the drive-by-wire throttle pedal and off you go. It zips to 100 miles per hour, and it stops just as well. FCX gets a reported 270 miles on a full tank. There is sufficient room in back for two large adults, and its lines are almost avant-garde.
We expect this of a mainstream Honda sedan. Throw in that the FCX is hydrogen powered and filled by a “pump” hooked to your house’s natural gas supply, and even casual observers realize this so-called lack of drama is itself dramatic.
The FCX is a working hydrogen-powered prototype that will be on sale to consumers in 2008, launching a year earlier than anticipated. Corporately, Honda also has a plan to address the cumbersome question of how to build a hydrogen infrastructure, but more on that later.
The FCX was unveiled at the October 2005 Tokyo motor show. The technology has been in development in-house for more than two decades, and the sedan is the next step from Honda in making fuel cell vehicles practical and cool. Engineers repackaged the fuel cell stack into the central transmission hump to go with a conventional fwd motor underhood. Since introduction of their involvement in the technology in 1999, the fuel stack has been reduced in size from cumbersome to comfortable; it went from roughly the size of a small coffee table to that of an overworked CPA’s briefcase, and from horizontal to vertical stacks. More important, the output increased roughly 40 percent every three years to get it to its current output and range. High-pressure storage tanks for the hydrogen lie below and ahead of the trunk, essentially atop the rear axle and out of harm’s way.
The FCX drive at Honda’s test track in Japan was controlled and brief, yet was sufficient to understand that this wasn’t about testing a vehicle, but about the powertrain itself. FCX is quiet, as all hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are, with the only noise a soft purr of its electric motors and wind whistle whipping over mirrors. Torque is immediate: Output comes when you put your foot to the throttle. (Technically, we could still say “put your foot to the gas,” but it is a new gas, indeed.) The ride from pit lane was reminiscent of a golf cart whirring along, except that the engineer riding shotgun, a lab-coated gent identified only as Ken, kept saying “Faster! Faster!” These are our kinds of engineers.
Obviously, Ken was proud of the FCX’s performance. It sped right up to 95 miles per hour on the banked oval, brakes slowed it quickly along the back straight, and then it got back to cruising speed without a hiccup. A driver experiences a type of disassociation; not just because the instrument panel looks to be from the Starship Enterprise, but you expect an engine thrum or transmission whine or the aural click of a shifter going through the gearbox detents. None of those are onboard this sedan; this is driving with Jetson-like propulsion without the benefit of a Vespa scooter burble.
The last several months have seen a surge of alternative propulsion news and vehicles racing to the front pages of the popular press. As General Motors paraded its hydrogen-powered Sequel sport/ute to the world, Honda revealed a brace of environmentally friendly power units, including flexible-fuel vehicles, a 2.2-liter ultra-clean diesel engine, a clean lawnmower engine, and a third generation of the home-based hydrogen filling station.
These boys have been busy.
In fact, this home hydrogen refueling technology separates Honda from the field that continues to think of the gas station model. Using natural gas as its energy source, the Honda Energy Station III is a home-based refueling station that, through a series of chemical processes, converts natural gas to hydrogen. Not only will HES III, as it is known, fill your car with the hydrogen it needs (in a low-pressure environment that ensures it fills to the top), it also provides electricity and heat for an average-size household. The HES III can also be a backup power-generating system during power outages by using hydrogen in its storage tank to power an internal fuel cell. This gives off as much as five kilowatts of power in normal and emergency conditions, and does so while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Yes: Honda has a free-standing solar-powered HES system available for commercial application, too. Can you say turn-key infrastructure?
Listening to Honda president and CEO Takeo Fukui talk about the emerging technology, you sense an honesty about a corporate need to do right for the environment. There is weight to the burden—with some 21 million made annually, Honda is the world’s largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines. How many of those will be replaced by hydrogen-powered fuel cells, only time will tell.
Press conference
The following is a presentation made to nearly a dozen U.S. automotive journalists on Sept. 23, by Takeo Fukui, Honda Motor president and CEO. This was an opportunity to see the breadth of new and future technology Honda is bringing to market in an effort to be environmentally friendlier. Technologies included clean diesel, bio-technology for the advancement of cellulose that could be turned into ethanol and, the granddaddy of them all, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you very much for taking the time to make the long trip to visit us here at the Tochigi R&D Center.
More than 35 years ago I began my career at Honda R&D as part of a team creating a cleaner-burning engine. These efforts led to the Civic CVCC, the first vehicle in the world to meet the 1970 U.S. Clean Air Act based solely on engine performance. I was lucky to be an engineer at Honda at such a challenging and exciting time in the history of the auto industry.
Today, in the face of so many environmental issues, I think it is again a very challenging and exciting time for our engineers at Honda. So, we invited you here today, in the hope of enhancing your understanding of our current research and development activities… and our plans for the future.
Honda is the world’s largest engine manufacturer, reaching some 21 million customers each year. Thus, we see it as our responsibility to minimize the impact of our activities on the environment, so that the convenience and pleasure of mobility can be passed onto future generations. Based on this commitment, in May 2006, we announced global carbon-dioxide reduction goals… both for our products and production activities.
To attain these objectives, we must continue to refine the engine and powertrain technologies that are fundamental to Honda’s success. This continues to be a key focus of our wide-ranging research and development initiatives. Today, it is our pleasure to introduce to you several promising technologies. We will continue applying Honda innovation in developing new products that will greatly exceed the expectations of our customers.
Among the technologies we will present today is the first diesel engine to attain a level of environmental performance equal to a gasoline engine. This new clean diesel engine features a revolutionary new catalytic converter… and a simple, compact design that makes it ideal for passenger cars. Just as the CVCC engine revolutionized the clean performance of gasoline engines… today, we’re leading the way to cleaner diesel engines.
Honda has always believed that fuel cell technology is vital, as it holds the promise of helping solve both environmental and energy challenges. We continue to make progress toward the large-scale introduction of fuel cell vehicles, which many see as the ultimate in clean mobility for the future.
Today, you will test drive a functional version of the FCX Concept vehicle first displayed at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. This vehicle features our new, more advanced fuel cell system. And I am delighted to announce today that in 2008… one year earlier than originally planned… we will introduce a new fuel cell vehicle in Japan and the U.S. based on this concept model. In addition to its environmental performance, I think you will find that this new vehicle will be as fun to drive as any Honda. Honda is also engaged in projects focusing on the production of hydrogen fuel… including one that uses thin film solar cells developed by Honda. With a fuel cell vehicle running on hydrogen generated with solar panels, no carbon dioxide is emitted either in producing the fuel or operating the vehicle. This is the ultimate scenario.
Also, as we announced last week, we have achieved exciting advances in biotechnology research. Our new technology helps increase yields in bio-ethanol production… by using the stalks and leaves of plants that would normally be discarded. This improves the potential for wider application of ethanol-powered vehicles and for further CO2 reductions. We plan to maintain this comprehensive focus on both vehicles and fuels in our ongoing research and development.
Finally, at Honda, we remain committed to advancing internal combustion engine technology. So, today, we will present some exciting new advances in the technology that powers the majority of the products we sell today… the gasoline engine. Specifically, we will present new control technologies that further advance fuel efficiency. Overall… you will have a number of test drive opportunities.
In research and development, Honda places the highest priority on initiative and innovation…always setting the bar high. As we continue to develop the environmental technologies that are so critical to the world’s future, our efforts will extend beyond environmental performance. We will always strive to make mobility a great joy. We will deliver on two traditional Honda promises: to lead the industry in innovation and advanced technology… and to provide people with vehicles that are fun to drive. I hope your experience here today will give you a sense of our commitment and the promise of future technologies.
Honda’s Next Generation Power Plant Technologies
Honda’s efforts to clean up the internal combustion engine are many and varied. As maker of some 21 million engines annually—from snow blowers to motorcycles to cars, personal watercraft and lawnmowers—Honda is looking at different, cleaner approaches to the technology. Below are just some of the technologies the company is pursuing.
Next-Generation Diesel Engine
Honda has developed a next-generation diesel engine that reduces exhaust gas emissions to a level equal to a gasoline engine. The diesel engine employs a revolutionary nitrogen oxides catalytic converter that enables a reduction in NOx emissions sufficient to meet stringent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier II Bin 5 emission requirements. Honda plans to introduce this diesel engine in the U.S. within three years.
Fuel Cell-Powered Vehicle
Honda has held a demonstration drive of the next generation FCX Concept fuel cell vehicle, an earlier version of which was shown at the 2005 Tokyo Motor Show. The FCX Concept features a compact, high-efficiency Honda FC Stack. Limited marketing of a fuel cell vehicle begins in 2008 in Japan and the U.S.
Flexible Fuel Vehicle
Honda has developed a flexible fuel vehicle system that enables gasoline engine-based power plants to operate on either 100-percent ethanol or a wide range of ethanol-gasoline fuel mixtures. In late 2006, Honda plans to begin sales of FFVs in Brazil, where bio-ethanol has gained popularity.
Advanced Gasoline Engine
Honda has further improved its VTEC (Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control System) technology with the development of the Advanced VTEC engine, which provides high performance along with outstanding fuel economy and lower emissions. The new engine combines continuously variable valve lift and timing control with the continuously variable phase control of VTC (Variable Timing Control) to achieve a world-leading performance and a 13 percent improvement in fuel efficiency. Honda plans to release a production vehicle equipped with the new engine within three years.